Singleness: A Life Grounded in Love

In 10 studies Ruth Goring leads you through Scripture to find God's vision for the single life. You will learn to listen deeply to God, identify the gifts your life offers, cope effectively with temptation, make space for relationships, and grow into a sense of belonging.

Introduction

Getting the Most Out of SinglenessThis section introduces the topic, explains the structure followed in each study and offers tips for those approaching the study on their own as well as those participating in a group.

Session One

Grounded in Love Paul defines our relationship with God by identifying God as "the Father." What does God's fatherhood mean to you on an emotional level?Ephesians 3:14-21

Session Two

God's Presence in Broken Relationships When is it tempting to lean too heavily on human beings who cannot "save" us?Psalm 146

Session Three

Space to Love Do you have any models in this realm—singles who "live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord"? What would you like to learn from them?

1 Corinthians 7:25-35

Session Four

Jesus & His Friends What does it mean to you that in a time of deep suffering Jesus—the Son of God—needed human friends?

Matthew 26:36-46

Session Five

God's Presence in Loneliness How does the psalmist respond to the silence of aloneness? Do you generally try to fill up silence when you are alone? Psalm 142

Session Six

Team Works Silas and Timothy were among Paul's long-term partners. Do you have people with whom you are interdependent? How might God be nudging you to become a partner or teammate to a fellow single? 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:1-12

Session Seven

Jesus & Temptation What does is mean to you that you are Jesus' sister, Jesus' brother—and that he is not ashamed to call you so?

Hebrews 2:5-18; 4:14-16

Session Eight

Finding Your Well What reassurance does God give Hagar, and what commands? Has God led you to a "well" in any place of your own suffering?Genesis 21:8-21

Session Nine

Receiving Life with Thanksgiving Paul instructs Timothy to "treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity." What hinders the development of such relationships in your life?1 Timothy 4:1-5:2

Session Ten

Enlarging Your Tent Is barrenness a plight that feels utterly foreign to you, or do you—literally or figuratively—identify with it? Why is the barren woman called to rejoice?

Isaiah 54

Total number of pages—63

Ruth Goring, formerly an editor at IVP and a campus staff member with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, now works at the University of Chicago Press. Her other books include the Bible study guides Environmental Stewardship, Meeting God in Quiet and Meeting God in Relationships, and the ebook Date Rape.